Silviu Petrovan
Protected Species and Habitats, Semenic Mountain, Romania Caras Gorges National Park in Romania’s Semenic Mountains has a total area of over 36,000ha lying in the south-western part of the Romanian Carpathians. Forests cover most of the surface but due to its extension and range, there is a great variety of other habitats. This area is home to a series of strictly protected reptile species but there is no viable administration or management scheme towards preserving these specie.
This project aims to assess these reptiles through detailed field survey and inventories of some target species. Special attention will be paid to a campaign raising conservation awareness of the local population about these existing reptiles. Special attention will be paid to Vipera ammodytes, a species that suffered severe habitat loss all over Europe in the past 100 years. It has a bad reputation and is considered very dangerous by both locals and tourists who often kill it on sight. All observations will be provided to the department that currently manages the National Park and will also be an example for other protected areas confronted with similar situations.
You can contact the team at shr_herp@yahoo.com
Project Update: August 2003 All our proposed objectives were achieved in the first stage of the project. After preliminary discussions with the Caras-Severin Environmental Protection Inspectorate representatives and after studying the papers and cartographic materials that they allowed us to consult, we were able to have a larger view of the Semenic, Caras Gorges National Park and identified some smaller key protected areas within.
The discussions were followed by two field survey stages (10 days each). First survey stage took place in April, in the middle of the reptiles mating season, when they are most active. The second one took place in July, in order to identify pregnant females and newborn or new-hatched babies. We always had contact with the local people and discussed the “Vipera ammodytes problem”. It was revealed that the local people are not the main threat to the species, but the unauthorized breeders that have so called “farms” for collecting venom.
The exemplars were measured and the gathered data will be used for statistics. Lots of pictures were taken. Between the reptile species, we identified the Vipera ammodytes, Coronella austriaca, Natrix natrix, Natrix tesselata, Elaphe longissima, Lacerta agilis, Lacerta vivipara, Lacerta viridis. Beside the reptile species, the amphibians were also identified and photographed. A spatial distribution pattern of the reptile species is already visible, as the habitats where we identified them are strongly different between the East and West side of the National Park. The habitats are diverse, from rocky surfaces to shrubs, meadows and wooden land.
or the raising awareness campaign that will be conducted mainly in schools, the educational and informational materials are almost done (a poster with the endangered reptile species and a written material about the importance of the protecting the wildlife in the Semenic – Caras Gorges National Park). We anticipate beginning raising awareness in September, October when the school year begins. We are also in touch with another environmental NGO, Exploratorii Resita, which have nature-related activities in the Caras Gorges area.
In October a new field stage must be undertaken, to observe the reptiles before entering hibernation.
Project Update: July 2004 In July 2004, Silviu received a second Rufford Small Grant for the project to assess the protected amphibian species status and habitats in the Semenic Mountains – Caras Gorges National Park, Romania. In order to complete the inventory of herpetofauna that begun with the reptiles in the previous RSG.
It will be conducted through and inventory and monitoring of some target species (Triturus cristatus, Triturus vulgaris, Salamandra salamandra, Bombina variegata, Pelobates fuscus, Bufo bufo, Hyla arborea, Rana dalmatina). Special attention will be paid to a raising awareness campaign of the local population concerning the endangered species of both amphibians and reptiles existing in the National Park.
Project Update: July 2005 The first step towards the completion of the Semenic – Caras Gorges National Park herpetofauna list was to conduct an extensive inventory of the amphibian species and their distribution. The inventory activities started in March, in order to comprise the maximum activity period for the amphibian species – the mating and breeding periods, and they still continue. A preliminary species count indicates as many as 13 species of amphibians in this National Park, which added to the 12 species of reptiles indicates this region as a very rich and important area for herpetofauna. The collected data helped us elaborate an amphibian species and habitats monitoring program that will be forwarded to the Park Administration for approval.
During the project implementation period we received full support from the Park Administration staff; this lead to the proposal in partnership of a new project on amphibians’ conservation that aims to reduce the threats identified during this RSG project. The financing comes from the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Romania (MATRA /KNIP Grants for 2005 -2006) for the project entitled “Saving the amphibians in the Semenic-Caras Gorges National Park”.
Currently, we are working in order to realise a multimedia CD-ROM, based on the materials that we gathered in the first and this second Rufford Small Grants that will contain a presentation of all the reptiles and amphibians to be found in this National Park, with photos and description, distribution and conservation threats, as well as measures that should be taken in order to ensure their survival.
Final Report Read about the activities undertaken and findings of this project in the final report below.
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